1
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[Door opens, footsteps]

2
00:00:06,265 --> 00:01:10,368
[Jazzy music: 'The Russians Are Coming' - Val Bennett]

3
00:01:10,752 --> 00:01:14,240
Tim: The car does almost have a religious status in the modern world.

4
00:01:14,241 --> 00:01:17,387
It's certainly more than just a practical means of transport. 

5
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People get more passionate about their car than any other machine.

6
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At the same time, there's something very cheap and nasty about the things.

7
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The way they so quickly rot and fall to bits, and end up looking like these ones.

8
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It's all such a vast subject, that today I'm going to concentrate

9
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on the part of the car that people lavish most love and care on.

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Which is also the part that leads to the car's rapid demise.

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This is the steel skin which gives the car its shape and its rigidity, the body shell.

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I'm going to look at how it developed and also at its structure.

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[Squelchy footsteps]
The invention that really created the market for the car,

14
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by giving people a taste of the fun that could be had from

15
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a personal means of transport, was the bicycle.

16
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[rattly bike on wet ground]

17
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It was the popularity of cycling that led to several intrepid engineers

18
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trying to go faster by adding one of the new internal combustion engines.

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Gottlieb Daimler added one to a wooden wheeled bicycle a bit like this.

20
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And Karl Benz based his design on a tricycle.

21
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[quiet gear noise] 

22
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Benz was a mechanical engineer, born in Germany in 1844.

23
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[squeaking]
He bought a bicycle in the 1860s

24
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and became obsessed by the idea of motorised personal transport ever since

25
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Cyclist: Pants and Sighs. 

26
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[Wedding bells]
Man: Ah here Benz, see here marry my daughter, and I give you lots of money...

27
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Benz: Ah! My engine! My engine! At last I can build it. AHHH!

28
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Tim: He spent his wife's dowry on a small engineering works,

29
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and eventually managed to make a simple engine and tricycle.

30
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[engine noise]
Benz: Liebschen? Liebschen?

31
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Would you like to come for a drive?

32
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Mrs Benz: I hope it vas vorth vaiting for Karl!

33
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[Engine noise]
You and your engine!  Aah! Ooh! Aah!

34
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Tim: He never saw the point of faster speeds, and refused to change his basic design.

35
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Man: You won't change with the times, so we have no confidence!

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By 1906 he was hopelessly outdated, and his fellow directors threw him out.

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Benz: Could zis be a boardroom coup?

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All: Ja!

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Benz: Aaaaaaah!

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Tim: At exactly the same time, Daimler was also experimenting, only 30 miles away,

41
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Though neither knew of the other's work.

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Daimler was really only interested in engines.

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He perfected one which ran at 900 rpm,

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[fast engine noise]
Over three times faster than anything else at the time.

45
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He then tried to find all sorts of uses for it.

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[clank]

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[engine noise]

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Daimler: Arrrgh

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[clink clink clink]

50
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[Horse whinnies]

51
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[engine noise]

52
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[CRASH!]

53
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[water lapping]

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Tim: He was never very successful at making complete vehicles,

55
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Daimler: Oooaaaaarrrrggghh!
[engine noise]

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Tim: but his engines were adopted by other firms and formed the basis of the first successful cars.

57
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This is a 1902 Wolsey.

58
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Cars had quickly lost their resemblance to bicycles, and started to look literally like horseless carriages.

59
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The body, the interior, the wooden frame, the wheels, even the patent leather

60
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mudguards and the lamps look exactly like a horse drawn carriage.

61
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In fact the whole, this part of it would have been made by a traditional carriage builder.

62
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Mechanically though, it's already surprisingly like a modern car,

63
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with the steering wheel and the pedals in exactly the same place.

64
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[rattly exhaust noise outside]
Donald: It is ready. He has bought one!

65
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Man: Why, the fellow hasn't a horse of his own yet, has he?

66
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Man2: Well I think we ought to go and see what he has got anyway.

67
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Man: Certainly. I'm not prejudiced. Come along vicar.

68
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Tim: With a 20 mph speed limit, which stayed in force until 1930, cars still weren't particularly useful.

69
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Donald: ...old man, how are you?
Driver: Hello Donald, boy.

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[woman exclaims]

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Tim: But motoring quickly became a fashionable hobby for the rich.

72
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This is part of a film made by Morris in the 1920s about the history of motoring.

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[dismissive sniff]

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Driver: Come on, jump in sir.

75
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[All chat at once] 

76
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[rattly engine noise] [chatting]

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[music]
Tim: The idea of mass producing cars, started by Henry Ford in 1906,

78
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slowly spread to Europe after the first world war.

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This is Morris's factory in 1925.

80
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[music continues]

81
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The bodies were still being made with the traditional wooden frames, like horseless carriages.

82
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Although they were mass produced, it was all still very labour intensive.

83
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[music]

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Girl: Oh Mother! Here's Dad with my new car!

85
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Tim: It wasn't long though, before there was a revolutionary change in the way that cars were made.

86
00:06:56,068 --> 00:06:58,648
[girl giggles]
Dad: Well, do you like it?

87
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Mother: Well it certainly looks very nice.
Girl: I think it's lovely!

88
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Girl: Is it really all made out of steel Dad?
Dad: Yes, practically all of it. 

89
00:07:05,754 --> 00:07:09,087
Tim: Today all cars are built round a steel body shell.

90
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It's a good name for it, because it is a bit like an egg shell.

91
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the material it's made of is very weak, it's the shape that gives it its strength.

92
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The steel the car's made of is incredibly thin.

93
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It's only just over half a millimetre thick.

94
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And I can actually just about cut it with a pair of kitchen scissors.

95
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(mutters) ...with a little bit of a struggle!
[metallic scraping noises]

96
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However, when it's pressed into curved, rounded shapes...

97
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Curved, rounded shapes like this.

98
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This is actually the bit from the bottom of one of the doors.

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Its strength increases enormously.

100
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It's now quite strong enough to stand on!

101
00:07:58,638 --> 00:08:05,349
The idea of making cars like this came from an American engineer called Edward Budd, who's one of my heroes.

102
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Budd set up his factory, determined to make complete pressed steel cars. In 1912.

103
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His first successful car body, for the 1916 Willis Knight,

104
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looked indistinguishable from a conventional wooden one.

105
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Budd started making bodies for almost all the American car manufacturers,

106
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and in 1925 he set up a pressing plant at Cowley for Morris.

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[Music]
Voiceover: The Morris standard ensures that the 'okay' stamp is placed only on the best,

108
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and that's how they get beautiful stamped sheets of steel.

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Girl: Dad, the car hasn't got fat sides and beautiful curves.

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Dad: Yes I know, Miss Inquisitive, I thought you'd want to know how that's done.

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Well, those beautiful curves you like so much, are made on huge machines called presses.

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Some are as tall as a house, and weigh as much as 30 tonnes or more.

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[music continues (distorted)]

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Voiceover: A machine of especial beauty of a great machine pressing steel.

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[music] [industrial noises]

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500 tons presses...(distorted)..weight on a sheet of steel,

117
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producing the rear quarter panels of an Austin 7.

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[music]

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Tim: The rounder the panel the stronger it is.

120
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This modern bonnet is almost completely flat and it's extremely weak.

121
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[rumble of sheet steel]

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It needs this elaborate piece behind to make it stiff enough.

123
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This old Morris Minor bonnet needs hardly any stiffening at all.

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It is made of slightly thicker metal, but the main reason for its strength is its shape.

125
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Deeply rounded curves like this are the obvious way to give pressed steel strength.

126
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and I'm sure this is why such rounded bulbous cars came into fashion in the '30s and '40s.

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[Music]

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Voiceover: In the truly modern home, or the truly modern car, its functional design that counts.

129
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Smart styling is styling with a purpose.

130
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As seen in this new 1948 futuramic Oldsmobile.

131
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Futuramic is a brand new word

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created to describe this brand new post-war General Motors car.

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Luxuriously appointed inside and out.

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The futuramic Oldsmobile brings truly modern post-war design to the automotive field.

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[crunching gravel]

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Tim: The rigidity of the steel pressings can be greatly increased

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by welding them together to make hollow box sections...

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A bit like that!

139
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This welding is done by machines like this, called spot welders.

140
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Although it looks rather complicated, all it's doing is, er,

141
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squash the two bits of metal between it's jaws,

142
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and pass a large electric current through it.

143
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This heats the metal up enough to weld it together.

144
00:11:09,676 --> 00:11:12,025
(mutters) So, erm...

145
00:11:12,026 --> 00:11:14,876
[jaws ratchet closed] [electric buzz]

146
00:11:18,451 --> 00:11:21,192
[clicliclick] [Bzzzzt]

147
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This now feels completely rigid.

148
00:11:26,312 --> 00:11:30,035
If you look at any modern can, you can actually see the little spots.

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They're all welded together like this.

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[Music]

151
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Although at first the welding was done by portable machines like this.

152
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Today it's usually done by robots.

153
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[music]

154
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[engine]

155
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Cars were traditionally build around a strong chassis like this.

156
00:11:50,693 --> 00:11:54,182
[engine]

157
00:11:54,183 --> 00:11:58,914
All the components were fixed on, and then a fairly flimsy body could be dropped on over the top.

158
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[music] 

159
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However, Edward Budd's techniques changed all this.

160
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[engine]

161
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[engine gets even louder]

162
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Budd realised that, er, all steel bodies... [radiator bursts]
Whoops! *giggle*

163
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Budd realised that his all steel bodies could be made so strong,

164
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that you really didn't need a chassis at all.

165
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All the mechanical components could be bolted straight on.

166
00:12:46,260 --> 00:12:51,633
Girl: Dad! I thought the engine, axles and wheels were always fixed onto the chassis.

167
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Dad: On ordinary cars yes, but this Morris is the latest product of engineering science,

168
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and the wheels are fixed directly onto the body.

169
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[music]
Tim: The enormous advantage of making a whole pressed steel shell,

170
00:13:02,605 --> 00:13:06,439
without a separate chassis, is that it's highly suited to mass production.

171
00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:10,966
Once you have the dies and presses, the whole process is very quick and cheap.

172
00:13:10,967 --> 00:13:17,149
Lead by America, the car industry lost its dependence on earlier industrial techniques

173
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and became a dominant industry in its own right.

174
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[Music]

175
00:13:37,916 --> 00:13:41,931
Presses like these have been used to mass produce cars ever since.

176
00:13:41,932 --> 00:13:45,691
Although today cars look very different and have improved

177
00:13:45,692 --> 00:13:49,252
in countless small ways, they're basically very similar.

178
00:13:52,930 --> 00:13:56,591
Almost the only radical change, on a par with pressed steel construction,

179
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has been the introduction of front wheel drive.

180
00:13:59,405 --> 00:14:06,316
In many ways the 1934 Citroen Traction Avant was really the first modern car.

181
00:14:06,317 --> 00:14:11,425
It was front wheel drive, it was the very first mass produced car without a chassis,

182
00:14:11,426 --> 00:14:14,031
and it even had independent suspension.

183
00:14:14,032 --> 00:14:18,396
Andre Citroen was friends with Budd, was much more adventurous

184
00:14:18,397 --> 00:14:22,639
than any of the American car manufacturers, who'd rejected Budd's ideas.

185
00:14:24,274 --> 00:14:28,523
Front wheel drive was slow to catch on, the first popular car to use it in

186
00:14:28,524 --> 00:14:32,251
Britain was the mini, not introduced until 25 years later.

187
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Voiceover: Some baby! Loaded!
[music]

188
00:14:36,347 --> 00:14:38,537
Remember that family at the bus stop?

189
00:14:38,538 --> 00:14:40,837
You know, the ones who just couldn't get away?

190
00:14:40,838 --> 00:14:43,779
The new Austin 7's transformed their lives.

191
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[music]

192
00:14:46,455 --> 00:14:47,967
But what about all that luggage?

193
00:14:47,968 --> 00:14:49,660
Can they get it in?

194
00:14:49,661 --> 00:14:51,383
[music]

195
00:14:51,384 --> 00:14:55,327
Tim: With all the mechanical parts at the front, there was much more room inside.

196
00:14:55,328 --> 00:14:57,369
which was a big selling point.

197
00:14:57,370 --> 00:15:08,266
[music]

198
00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:15,099
The Mini has its driving wheels at the front,

199
00:15:15,100 --> 00:15:19,603
this makes it all very compact, particularly with the engine mounted sideways.

200
00:15:19,604 --> 00:15:23,803
The big advantage to the manufacturer was that all the mechanics would

201
00:15:23,804 --> 00:15:27,332
be assembled together, and fitted under the body shell in one lump.

202
00:15:29,869 --> 00:15:40,513
[engine starts and drives off]

203
00:15:40,514 --> 00:15:44,615
In the last few years front wheel drive has suddenly become very popular.

204
00:15:44,616 --> 00:15:47,621
It's now actually more common than rear wheel drive.

205
00:15:51,053 --> 00:15:54,469
Today, body shells are designed very scientifically with computers.

206
00:15:54,470 --> 00:15:57,111
Which has made them lighter and more aerodynamic.

207
00:15:57,112 --> 00:15:59,963
It's also made them look more and more alike.

208
00:15:59,964 --> 00:16:02,877
This shell could have come from almost any car.

209
00:16:02,878 --> 00:16:07,966
Even professional mechanics who've seen it couldn't tell what make or model it was at first sight.

210
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[buzzing noise]

211
00:16:09,714 --> 00:16:14,486
Despite all this design, the steel body shell still has considerable limitations.

212
00:16:14,487 --> 00:16:18,224
Superficially, the panels bend ridiculously easily,

213
00:16:18,225 --> 00:16:21,347
and sorting out even a small dent is quite an elaborate process.

214
00:16:21,348 --> 00:16:24,103
[buzzing continues]

215
00:16:24,104 --> 00:16:27,536
Some outer panels are now made of plastic, which doesn't dent so easily.

216
00:16:27,537 --> 00:16:30,559
But this isn't suitable for the car's structure.

217
00:16:33,036 --> 00:16:38,401
Another problem with the steel body shell, is that even a small dent can distort a large part of it.

218
00:16:38,402 --> 00:16:42,876
And put vital parts like the suspension mountings out of alignment.

219
00:16:44,023 --> 00:16:46,610
Straightening it out is quite an elaborate process.

220
00:16:46,611 --> 00:16:52,741
First the body shell has to be firmly fixed to the jig for the model of car.

221
00:16:52,742 --> 00:16:55,812
Precisely locating all the important points.

222
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The damage can then be pulled out

223
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[clanking of metal noises]

224
00:17:29,552 --> 00:17:38,632
[compressor]

225
00:17:38,633 --> 00:17:41,716
The badly damaged bits still have to be replaced,

226
00:17:41,717 --> 00:17:44,520
but it pulls most of the shell back into alignment.

227
00:17:54,631 --> 00:17:59,811
For more serious impacts, Budd was originally very proud of the safety of his steel bodies.

228
00:17:59,812 --> 00:18:02,544
and arranged all sorts of stunts to prove it.

229
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Citroen did the same. 

230
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[crash clang bang]

231
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[footsteps on gravel]

232
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[clanking]

233
00:18:38,636 --> 00:18:44,585
[engine starts, moves off] 

234
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Mother: Well I must say, I admire your choice John.

235
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Girl: It really is perfect, and it's so nice to know you're surrounded by steel.

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Dad: Yes, you'll be just like a knight of old.
Girl: Yes, just as safe. 

237
00:18:55,935 --> 00:18:59,828
Much more comfortable, and a car I'll be proud to own.

238
00:19:00,866 --> 00:19:04,355
[loud rattling noise]

239
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[pumps up jack]

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Tim: however, as car speeds have increased over the years,

241
00:19:09,577 --> 00:19:14,157
the forces the body shell has to cope with have increased enormously.

242
00:19:15,050 --> 00:19:19,511
The force needed to stop a car with the breaks quickly makes them glow red hot.

243
00:19:19,512 --> 00:19:39,671
[engine drives hub against brakes]

244
00:19:39,672 --> 00:19:45,320
In a crash, the car stops in a fraction of a second so the force is many times greater.

245
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And it all has to be absorbed by crumpling the body shell.

246
00:19:48,563 --> 00:19:55,424
Manufacturers try to design areas that collapse, called crumple zones, that in any serious impact

247
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leaving the interior as rigid as possible.

248
00:19:57,819 --> 00:20:01,772
But safety's only one of many factors that goes into designing a body shell.

249
00:20:01,773 --> 00:20:06,773
Cost, appearance, ease of manufacture, etc. are all equally important.

250
00:20:06,774 --> 00:20:10,272
Certainly cars aren't as safe as they have to be, when for

251
00:20:10,273 --> 00:20:15,035
instance, you're designing a stunt for a film, and safety's the priority.

252
00:20:15,236 --> 00:20:18,480
Rex: The difference between a real road car accident, and a stunt like I'm now

253
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 going to do, is the fact that I know exactly what's going to happen in the stunt.

254
00:20:22,776 --> 00:20:26,883
I prepare myself and the car for that eventuality.

255
00:20:27,831 --> 00:20:30,558
the body shell is no where near strong enough, so we have to reinforce that

256
00:20:30,577 --> 00:20:34,864
with a roll cage, and that's made out of strong tubular steel.

257
00:20:34,865 --> 00:20:37,603
And I know exactly where the car will be hitting the ground.

258
00:20:37,604 --> 00:20:43,461
Most of the impact will happen on that corner, so we reinforce that really strongly above my head.

259
00:20:43,462 --> 00:20:49,750
The doors are welded shut, this last door when I get in will be wired shut,

260
00:20:50,736 --> 00:20:54,078
to make sure it can't possibly open when it rolls, cos the door could

261
00:20:54,079 --> 00:20:58,279
rip off and go inside the car, and do quite a lot of damage.

262
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I also put two bars up at the window to make sure that the bonnet,

263
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if it did come off, wouldn't come through the window and hit me.

264
00:21:04,285 --> 00:21:11,103
I'm not really worried about the glass, the glass is minor, it can't possibly cut me - I'm wearing a visor and gloves.

265
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Although it looks dangerous, I don't consider it to be even slightly dangerous.

266
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Because I know what I'm doing.

267
00:21:16,992 --> 00:21:29,189
[engine revs hard] 

268
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[BANG-CLASH]

269
00:21:31,973 --> 00:21:52,868
[bang reverberates] [eerie music]

270
00:21:53,469 --> 00:22:02,864
[engine revs] [crash crash] [engine revs up and stops]

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00:22:03,608 --> 00:22:08,770
Rex: As I predicted, most of the impact was taken by the corner of the roof over my head.

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And as you can see, it is possible to build a structure strong enough to take even this drastic punishment.

273
00:22:14,783 --> 00:22:19,114
[metal clanking] 

274
00:22:19,115 --> 00:22:22,228
Tim: The other big problem with a steel body shell is rust.

275
00:22:22,229 --> 00:22:25,635
Despite manufacturer's claims about corrosion protection,

276
00:22:25,636 --> 00:22:29,464
about half of all cars are scrapped by the time they are ten years old.

277
00:22:30,184 --> 00:22:33,084
Most cars are still runners when they reach the yard,

278
00:22:33,085 --> 00:22:36,939
it's almost always the body shell, not the mechanics, which seals their fate.

279
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:42,840
this car still looks immaculate, but underneath it's so rusty it's impossible to repair.

280
00:22:42,841 --> 00:22:48,687
[hydraulic whine and engine noise]

281
00:22:48,688 --> 00:22:52,985
[clank clank crunch]

282
00:22:52,986 --> 00:22:55,951
[hydraulics]

283
00:22:55,952 --> 00:22:59,274
Tim: Budd realised this limitation of his material,

284
00:22:59,275 --> 00:23:02,313
and spent much of the '30s experimenting with stainless steel.

285
00:23:02,314 --> 00:23:07,846
He developed the beautiful stainless steel trains that are still in use in parts of America and Europe.

286
00:23:08,578 --> 00:23:12,739
Although the rusting steel used on today's cars leaves a lot to be desired.

287
00:23:12,740 --> 00:23:14,967
It does have one final compensation.

288
00:23:14,968 --> 00:23:18,189
Cars get more thoroughly recycled than any other machine.

289
00:23:18,190 --> 00:23:21,544
There's a whole industry of scrap yards which salvage and resell

290
00:23:21,545 --> 00:23:25,668
the mechanical parts and squash up the body shells to be remelted.

291
00:23:25,669 --> 00:23:28,748
Scrap yards really deserve a greener image.

292
00:23:28,749 --> 00:23:33,094
[traffic noise]

293
00:23:33,792 --> 00:23:36,941
Perhaps its almost a relief that cars don't last very long.

294
00:23:36,942 --> 00:23:40,005
With almost 20 million cars on the road in Britain.
"Come on!"

295
00:23:40,006 --> 00:23:44,268
Manufacturers in Europe producing over 30 million more every year.
[car horns hooting]

296
00:23:44,269 --> 00:23:48,089
3 times more cars are being produced than babies are being born.
[car horns hooting]

297
00:23:48,090 --> 00:23:50,294
[baby begins to cry]

298
00:23:50,295 --> 00:23:53,358
[slurps milk]

299
00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,004
[loud barfing noises]

300
00:23:55,005 --> 00:23:58,738
Man: Oh No, I'm losing millions.  I'm stuck in traffic jam!

301
00:23:58,739 --> 00:24:02,263
Tim: They're hardly the symbols of freedom and progress they once were.

302
00:24:02,264 --> 00:24:08,264
There's so many of them, they're now often slower than the bicycle they originated from.
[car horns] [bicycle bell]

303
00:24:08,265 --> 00:24:12,010
Man: Bloody Cy-clists!
[BEEEEP! BEEEEP!]

304
00:24:12,011 --> 00:24:17,489
Tim: It's a sad sight seeing what was once someone's possession coming to such an ignomious end.

305
00:24:17,490 --> 00:24:23,301
But watching this body shell being squashed does make you realise just how ingenious its design is.
[tailgate clatters]

306
00:24:24,078 --> 00:24:27,956
The way the whole thing can be made from such a small amount of metal.

307
00:24:27,957 --> 00:24:34,719
[clatter] [hydraulics]

308
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:42,346
[Crunch!]

309
00:24:42,347 --> 00:25:46,915
[Jazzy music: 'Take 5' - Dave Brubeck]
[car continues to be crushed]